Conversion rate optimization is a very popular and interesting subject. There are a lot of tactics and ideas out there on what may increase convergence on our store. However, besides only suggesting a few tactics to try, I think it's important to think in terms of first principles. What makes a purchase decision easier for a customer? What are the factors that determine why or why didn't a customer buy?
There are likely numerous factors. A lot of the time, it's contextual as well. Every business, product, and customer is different. But I think the following seven factors will help us when we are trying to understand what we should do to increase conversions. Trust, risk, urgency, value proposition, relevance, clarity, and friction.
Whenever we implement a change, remove something from our store, or add something to our store in the hopes that it will increase conversions, it should be because of one of the seven factors I just listed. Trust is likely one of the most important conversion factors. Customers want to know if they can trust your business and the product you're offering. One way to do this is to address common objections your business or product might get.
Product reviews and social proof are also powerful tools that create trust. Risk is very similar to trust. Common questions that might run through your customers minds when they sense risk are, is this a scam? Can I my money back? Is the product good quality? This is why it's important to display your legitimacy as much as possible.
Displaying certifications and badges and having a money back guarantee clearly displayed helps customers feel like the risk is mitigated. Urgency and scarcity are powerful marketing tools when used correctly. How often do you hear things like, limited time sale, or only 20 left? The fear of missing out is what drives customers to make quick and impulsive decisions.
Scarcity in time and scarcity in quantity are two ways to drive urgency. If your product has a limited quantity, test highlighting that and create some urgency. Whenever you run a seasonal or flash sale, test countdown timers and copy that emphasizes that. For value proposition, think about what's in it for the customer. Why should they care? Why are you or your product better than the competitor?
Why does your customer need your product? If these things aren't clear to your customer, there's nothing that differentiates your product, and ultimately, nothing that interests your customer. Sometimes, customers don't buy because they don't see any reason to. Good sales copy and beautiful product images and videos help with this. Relevance is an often overlooked aspect to why customers buy or don't buy.
First, is the product even for your customer? How targeted is the traffic being sent to the particular page or offer? Relevance is also important in terms of consistency. When a customer lands on a page from an ad with very different messaging or imagery, it can throw them off. That's why it's important to think in terms of context for the customer.
Why are they on the page? What are they looking for? Clarity is ensuring what you're offering is obvious and all common questions customers have about your product are answered. An FAQ on a product page or a video demonstrating the product can easily remedy this. Lastly, friction is how easy you make it for customers to buy from you.
This means an easy to navigate store with very few steps from landing page to checkout. The less you ask from your customers, the easier it will be for them to buy from you. Part of this is user experience as well. If your site is too slow or difficult to use, customers will give up fast. Also, you don't want to let customers down in terms of their expectations on how they think your site should work.
For example, if they click a link that says questions with the expectation that it will be an FAQ, and instead they get a contact form, that may turn them off. Make sure your store is intuitive and when customers perform an action on your store, their desired outcome is produced. Now, that we understand how to get customers to buy and get them to buy more, it's time to move on to the last phases of the conversion mindset system.
In the next lesson, we will finally go over hypothesizing a test, implementing it, evaluating the results, and putting it all together. [MUSIC PLAYING]
